Arsene Wenger has admitted that Granit Xhaka suffered a recurrence of his ankle injury against Manchester United and could miss the midweek clash against Southampton.
The midfielder scored the opener for the Gunners at the Emirates before Danny Welbeck added a second to end United’s long unbeaten run and finally give Wenger a victory over Jose Mourinho.
Xhaka was doubtful for the game with an ankle problem and was forced off in the second half with Wenger admitting afterwards he could now miss out in midweek.
“He got injured last time and he got a recurrence of that,” Wenger said via Standard Sport. He was then asked if that meant Xhaka would miss Southampton and added: “We’ll see. I don’t know.”
Xhaka put in a strong display against Manchester United and along with Aaron Ramsey helped the Gunners overcome a United side that had not been beaten in the Premier League since October.
Wenger praised the Switzerland international after the game and feels he is finally starting to make an impact on the team after his big-money move last summer.
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“He has improved from the start to now,” Wenger explained. “He is slowly getting stature in the middle of the park.”
Xhaka’s performance was great to see and a timely reminder of his abilities after what has been a difficult season for him since joining from Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Arsena will be hoping he can indeed shrug off his latest problem with the club needing to win all their remaining games to have any hope of a top four finish.
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